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I think this thread was based on an assumption that just isn't correct. Bargnani is not "our most vital player". If he isn't our #1 option in our offense, then why is he taking the most shots when he is shooting under 40% from the field.

Kyle Lowry is our most vital player. The guy is averaging 16.4/6.0/5.5 with 1.8 spg. He is "the head of the snake" on defense, and the one guy we have that can beat his man 1-on-1 off the dribble to make plays. He is our 3rd leading scorer on only 12 FGA's, our second best 3pt shooter, our second best person at getting to the FT line, and he leads our team in both steals and rebounds per game.

Behind him I would say JV is the most vital to this franchise. He has the skill set to be a game changing defensive player, and when he starts getting more touches and staying o the floor over 30 mpg regularly. DC knows this, and that is why they threw him into the fire right away. He will probably score 15-20 ppg once they give him consistent touches with his ability to create easy points by beating his man down the court, knocking down FT's and grabbing offensive rebounds.

Our 3rd most important player now is Derozan. He is taking the next step we thought we would get from him last year. He is rebounding and making more plays for others. He isn't going to lead all SG's in assists any time soon, but he does look improved. He has numbers very similar to Richard Hamilton's when he was younger. Not superstar level just yet, but an effective player. Hamilton shot under 30% from 3pt land 3 times in his first 5 years, including 03/04 when Detroit won the championship. He also only averaged 20+ ppg twice in 14 years.

I would even rank Calderon ahead of Bargnani on my "most vital" list. He is shooting 48.5% from downtown and averaging almost 8 assists per game in under 30 minutes.

Casey said Bargs is not our number 1 option. Everyone is upset about his play and they should be, I'm saying Casey is PART of the reason Bargs is struggling.

What happened to all those posters that said if Bargs is healthy, we could of made the playoffs or be close? I know there was a lot of them. Now all of a sudden it's a consensus that Bargs is not our most vital player.

“It’s about winning,” Stoudemire said. “You win, you’re going to get on national TV. Simple. In Phoenix, we won — Western Conference finals three, four years, playoffs every year. We won. If you don’t win, nobody really wants to see you.”

Casey said Bargs is not our number 1 option. Everyone is upset about his play and they should be, I'm saying Casey is PART of the reason Bargs is struggling.

How so? His shot chart is essentially the same year after year. It's not like his shot chart is drastically different this year than in his other seasons.

Last year in his brief 13 game sample, he was a marginally better rebounder and played better defence. An altered role on offense shouldn't change that.

Originally Posted by aman_13

What happened to all those posters that said if Bargs is healthy, we could of made the playoffs or be close? I know there was a lot of them. Now all of a sudden it's a consensus that Bargs is not our most vital player.

I think that just illustrates the flaw of drawing your conclusion on a 13 game sample. If anything, I think if you took a closer look at his 13 game sample, you'll find that the keys to his success was not his marked improvement but the opposing team themselves.

Just look at his percentages. Not only was his FG% dropping but his 3% was dropping as wel. Did you really think he was going to sustain his high level of play for the entire season?

Here's what I don't get. If Bargnani isn't our 1st option then why the hell is he out on the floor so damn much? I mean sure, he stretches the defense with his presence but if he's not our #1 scoring option then he shouldn't be getting the minutes he's been seeing. We need help on the boards, badly. Give Ed Davis some minutes. Hell, I don't care if he doen't even touch the ball while we're running our plays. HE CAN CRASH THE BOARDS!

Here's what I don't get. If Bargnani isn't our 1st option then why the hell is he out on the floor so damn much? I mean sure, he stretches the defense with his presence but if he's not our #1 scoring option then he shouldn't be getting the minutes he's been seeing. We need help on the boards, badly. Give Ed Davis some minutes. Hell, I don't care if he doen't even touch the ball while we're running our plays. HE CAN CRASH THE BOARDS!

x183

Originally Posted by nycericanguy

well unfortunately it looks like you were right about Bargs...

but hopefully we can use his expiring, if not at least we unloaded Novak's deal...